During this workshop, Tosca Terán introduces the potential of slime mould for collaboration at the intersection of art and science. Participants learn how to transform their kitchens and closets into safe, mini-Physarum Biolabs and leave the workshop with a feeding and growing kit, their own Slime mould, as well as a wide array of possibilities of slime mould (Physarum polycephalum*) culturing. The workshop invites participants to experiment with different biological media and feeding substrates, reflecting on how they inform the growth and morphology of protozoans and protists.

*Physarum polycephalum is a yellow ameboid dweller of decaying logs and decomposing vegetation on dim forest floors. It made headlines when Japanese biologists demonstrated its uncanny ability to optimize paths through mazes and reproduce tracks between mapped Tokyo railway stations. Since then, slime mould has become an attractive living substrate for research in diverse areas such as mathematical modelling, computation and bio-art.

Image Credit: Tosca Terán, Physarym polycephalum & the TTC, 2016. Courtesy of the artist.

Link: https://soundcloud.com/nanotopia/episode-3-special-guest-physarum-polycephalum